The Oils-Energy group has plenty of great stocks, but investors should always be looking for companies that are outperforming their peers. Gevo, Inc. (GEVO) is a stock that can certainly grab the attention of many investors, but do its recent returns compare favorably to the sector as a whole? Let's take a closer look at the stock's year-to-date performance to find out.

Gevo, Inc. is one of 242 individual stocks in the Oils-Energy sector. Collectively, these companies sit at #16 in the Zacks Sector Rank. The Zacks Sector Rank includes 16 different groups and is listed in order from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors.

The Zacks Rank is a proven model that highlights a variety of stocks with the right characteristics to outperform the market over the next one to three months. The system emphasizes earnings estimate revisions and favors companies with improving earnings outlooks. Gevo, Inc. is currently sporting a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy).

Over the past 90 days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for GEVO's full-year earnings has moved 5.6% higher. This signals that analyst sentiment is improving and the stock's earnings outlook is more positive.

Based on the latest available data, GEVO has gained about 22.4% so far this year. Meanwhile, the Oils-Energy sector has returned an average of 8.4% on a year-to-date basis. This means that Gevo, Inc. is performing better than its sector in terms of year-to-date returns.

Kinetik Holdings Inc. (KNTK) is another Oils-Energy stock that has outperformed the sector so far this year. Since the beginning of the year, the stock has returned 66.8%.

Over the past three months, Kinetik Holdings Inc.'s consensus EPS estimate for the current year has increased 5%. The stock currently has a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).

To break things down more, Gevo, Inc. belongs to the Alternative Energy - Other industry, a group that includes 44 individual companies and currently sits at #162 in the Zacks Industry Rank. On average, this group has gained an average of 66.8% so far this year, meaning that GEVO is slightly underperforming its industry in terms of year-to-date returns.

Kinetik Holdings Inc. however, belongs to the Oil and Gas - Field Services industry. Currently, this 23-stock industry is ranked #137. The industry has moved -0.7% so far this year.

Gevo, Inc. and Kinetik Holdings Inc. could continue their solid performance, so investors interested in Oils-Energy stocks should continue to pay close attention to these stocks.

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